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Firstly: - The heirachy of being is BS philosophy - it's anthrocentric in the worst kind of way. It is one thing to argue for a hierarchy from an evolutionary perspective (put the more 'developed' organism at the top of the list) but to then use it as the basis of a moral stance is...

Why is the creature that can (/chooses to) reproduce higher on your chain of being? Also, what has the factual nature of physiological processes, in itself, got to do with philosophy?

http://www.ozpolitics.info/blog/index.php?page_id=206 Greens: 89.9% Australian Democrats: 82.2% Labor Party: 79.3% Family First: 43.2% Liberal Party: 28% National Party: 24.6% One Nation: 19.3% Political: left Economic: left Social: centre left Traditional values: left

Research would suggest that genetics play a very large role in homosexuality. At the same time, I think to deny early childhood environment any role in the creation of homosexuality is a bit rash, given that genetic factors are unable to account for all of sexuality and given that noone has been...

Bieber seems to play a big role in past debates over whether or not homosexuality should be classified as an example of psychopathology.

For those who have decided that homosexuality is abnormal (and, in some cases, that it is therefore a mental disorder) I pose a few questions about normality: - What is normal (i.e. what standard/definition are you using?), and what is normal sexuality? - Is it wrong for someone to be...

More to the point, whether 'homosexuality is a disease' is a matter of debate in the scientific community, rather than a matter of consensus. With a case like this in particular one could argue that the answer comes down, ultimately, to a value laden judgement. If one takes a sample of google...

Measley?

I wasn't asserting it so much as asking whether anyone knew which one was the case. Fortunately someone was willing to give an answer, danke. While I think there is a definite upper limit to taxation, I also feel that welfare and redistribution of wealth are a necessary aspect of achieving...

Has some kind of sutdy ever been done on the relation between tax brackets and motivation to earn money. Even if high tax is a demotivator I would argue that the motivation of money is still extremely high. I reckon you could just about as easily argue that the 50% tax rate motivates them to...

Given that they're making use of a virus in their delivery system I suspect that they might be using the viruses to carry engineered protein/DNA strands for delivery into target cells, in which case modifying T-cells so that they recognise/destroy cancerous cells could be on the cards. One...

If you want to have some kind of consistency between god and quantum indeterminacy then just jump on the many-worlds interpretation bandwagon and postulate that god, as an omniscient being, has knowledge of all possible worlds. Of course, this could create problems in that these other world...

Re: To be honest A point of clarification: what I wrote above was largely directed at the notion of using nuclear weapons (which I see as being an extremely irresponsible action) as apposed to warfare in general, which is more complicated and not so morally clear cut.

Re: To be honest If that's the case then I think you're too detached from the situation. I can't quite see how countless civillian deaths can be painted in a morally positive way.

I reckon it definately flies in the face of the 'separation of church and state' ideal. Compulsory or not it's $90 million that the government is spending to fund religious advisors - they are funding religion... and in a way where young minds can be influenced no less! It's embarassing that...

Indeed... but at least we will have superior reflection skills!

Crustafa, one issue I have with your morality argument is that you argue from need to necessity. You see a world without god as a morally depraved reality in which 'anything goes' and assert that there must be a universal moral reference point. You also have an inner conviction that absolute...

Provided the rape doesn't end in murder there should still exist the opportunity for the individual to keep living their life (as best as they can manage given the circumstances) and to have pleasurable / worthwhile experiences. In the case of murder there is no such option. That's it... nada...

An inability to understand how the universe could come to be without a god does not show that there must be a god. It may be the case that the exact nature of the universe is beyond our intellectual capacity (as I am sure is the case with god, if it is the case that one[or 3?] exists).

The main issue I take with religion (and I know this won't necesarily apply to all of them) is this: - Religion doesn't leave room for flexibility in moral thought. If god says that 'x is good' then x is invariably accepted as good. It prevents deeper metaethical analyses and revision of the...